Comprehension Questions

1. Who can own a corporation?

2. Is a corporation necessarily larger than a sole proprietorship?

3. What are the advantages of the corporate form of ownership?

4. What can you say about the disadvantages of the corporate form of ownership?

5. Do the corporations issue stock to stockholder?

6. What kind of corporations usually don’t issue the stock?

7. What world-known corporations do you know?

8. What types of business usually take the corporate form of ownership?

Vocabulary Practice

Choose the necessary word and put it in the sentence:

charitable, stock, resources, institution, investment, nonprofit, amount of capital, to establish.

1. What kind of … is better: buying stock or buying real estate?

2. To attract greater financial … the company issues the stock.

3. A university can be … corporation.

4. The partners didn’t put the same … into business.

5. The group of people from different countries is going to … a corporation.

6. The Red Cross is an international … organization.

7. I want to buy some … in IBM and General Motors.

8. An educational … usually reinvests all its money.

Grammar exercises

Exercise 1. Make the sentences negative.

Model: They have held a meeting.

They haven’t held a meeting.

1. The stockholders have elected the Board of Directors.

2. This corporation has issued the stock.

3. The Board of Directors has chosen the company officers.

4. This company has greatly expanded.

5. We have already applied for a corporate charter.

Exercise 2. Put up four 4 questions of 4 types (general, special, disjunctive, alternative) to each sentence.

Model: The stockholders have held the annual meeting.

Have the stockholders held the annual meeting?

What have the stockholders done?

The stockholders have held the annual meeting, haven’t they?

Have the stockholders held a meeting or a conference?

1. The partners have applied for a corporate charter.

2. The stockholders have voted at the annual meeting.

3. The company has issued the additional stock.

4. They have invested all their money in this company.

Executive’s Functions Dialogue

Anna is having lunch with her sister Barbara. Anna has just accepted a position as an Administrative Assistant. Her boss is an executive with a firm that manufactures heavy machinery used in construction.

Barbara You’ve got a new job, Anna. My congratulations!

Anna Thanks, Barbara.

Barbara Tell me a few words about your boss. What does he do?

Anna Well, he is one of the vice presidents of the company so he’s rather important. He is an executive.

Barbara Do you know the difference between an executive, a manager and an administrator?

Anna I am afraid I can hardly tell you the difference. I think these words are interchangeable and they really aren’t different in many companies.

Barbara What about your company?

Anna In our company the top officers are called administrators. The next highest group – the vice presidents, the heads of major departments and branch plant managers are executives like my boss.

Barbara Is that all?

Anna The group below consists of managers, they are general managers and foremen.

Barbara So I see that an organization has a number of positions and some people have more authority than others.

Anna You are right.

Barbara But it would be interesting to know more about the functions of an executive like your boss.

Anna I’d say he makes a lot of important decisions. He sets objectives, coordinates work, delegates authority, makes hiring, firing, evaluating and just general leading.

Barbara It seems to be important.

Anna It is important. It’s evident that making careful decisions is the basis of good management.

Barbara But do you work under much pressure?

Anna Barbara, you know I am quite used to working under pressure from my last job. I am also accustomed to lots of paper work and red tape.

Barbara Good for you.

Anna And what’s more important I feel that I can learn a lot because my boss is very competent.

Barbara Good, I think we’d be in a hurry not to get late for the work.